Questers
by Ledderlegs
Summary: We're on the road at last!
1. Default Chapter

Questers

Chapter one

"I need you Hoggle. All of you."

Well how could I ignore that? A open invitation to come and see Sarah, whenever she needed us. Not that I mind her needing us, but it would be nice for me to be able to call her for help for once.

And boy do I need it now.

That rat Jareth has been chasing me for two days now.

Every time I turn round he's there, or rounding on my tail. We've been playing cat and mouse through the Labyrinth and the oubliettes for all of those two days. I'm starving, haven't had a bite to eat.

I'm home now. Haven't seen him for a few hours, so I think it's safe to stop here for a bit and relax.

The wall worm told me some of the goblins had started a food fight in the throne room and Jareth had gone to sort it out. Lucky for me.

Hoggle walked into his home, dropping his pack and walking into the kitchen.

He lived in a house built underground, disguised as a lump under the sandy floors of the outskirts of the labyrinth.

It wasn't easy to spot the house, and no one had ever managed to find the place before.

Mind you, never before had he been so furious.

Hoggle's home was small, only big enough for him, with four rooms, a bedroom, a living room, kitchen and larder.

The low ceilings were a deterrent to any of the bigger, more menacing inhabitants of the Labyrinth. Even Hoggle sometimes bumped his head going through the doors.

He blamed it on the builders of the place, who had, in all fairness, been a foot shorter than he.

He picked up a knife and set it on the working top, opening the cupboard to get a loaf of bread.

"Not so lucky for the hunk of ham I've got hung up in the larder. I'm gonna make sandwiches, then run as fast as I can till Sarah calls again. She'll know what to do. I can last till then."

"Now really Hedgewood, do you think I can be put off from talking to you so easily?"

Drat. I knew it was too good to be true.

Spinning round, I see him laid out on my kitchen table, twirling one of those dratted crystals.

Stupid gaudy hunks o rock

Reaching behind me, I can feel the edges of the knife.

"Now, Hoggle, don't do that." Jareth mocked. "Stabbing your guests is rude. Didn't your Mother ever teach you that?"

"You're no guest here, Jareth." I got hold of it. If push comes to shove, I'll use it, and I won't regret it either. He ain't my King anymore.

Not after what he made me do.

"True." Jareth aquised. "But your friend Sarah was no guest in my castle and that did not stop her."

"You set the challenge, Jareth, you take the consequences."

"Oh?" He raised an eyebrow. "Jareth is it? My my, you have grown bold Hoggle. No 'your Majesty's?'"

Why's he talking so long? Normally he'd just does what he's gonna do, and done with it. So why the chatter?

Ah.

I should have known it.

He's too bloody tall!

Can't stand up, can't chase me, can't even sit up cause he's on the table!

That'll teach him to pop in places.

Idly, Jareth began tossing the crystal from hand to hand, multiplying it, squashing the balls back down to one, then turning them into apples, then crystals again, all the while juggling effortlessly.

"You betrayed me Haggle. Do you expect to me to forgive that so easily?"

"I betrayed you?

You's never said nothing bout helping the lass."

"To the contrary. Numerous times did you assure me that you were taking her back to the beginning-only to take her closer to the castle!" Jareths face contorted with rage, catching the crystals back into one hand.

Hoggle watched, terrified, as ground crystal dust trickled from Jareth's fist.

Perhaps Jareth was more annoyed about this than he'd thought. But it wasn't that important, was it? One child in the millions that the goblins had taken over the years?

"Do you realize how much this defeat has cost me?" Jareth hissed. "No, you don't. Because you have your 'precious' friend Sarah."

Hoggle swallowed thickly, feeling the new courage Sarah had instilled in him only days before trickling away. But there was enough for him to decide to be as bold as possible while he still had the chance, and his tongue.

"She wouldn't have made it if you hadn't made me give her that stupid peach. She'd never 'ave got to junkyard if she didn't land there." Hoggle crossed his arms and glared.

'In for a penny,' sighed Hoggle inwardly, 'and I'm in for a pound.' "You knew she wouldn't stay in there."

"True…" Jareth drawled, pulling out the letters. He rolled over and propped his head upon one hand, ever wary of the low ceiling. "I suppose I am to blame partly." Noticing Hoggle's shocked stare, "Tut tut, Heggle. I am nothing but fair."

'though you wouldn't know it from the way he cheats' Hoggle thought darkly.

"Now, your punishment-"

"I need you Hoggle."

End of chapter one.

What did you think? I'm hoping to post on a fortnightly basis.

I don't own Labyrinth, or most of the Characters portrayed here.


	2. Questers, Chapter two

Need I say it? I don't own Labyrinth.

Chapter two.

'Whoopy do! Finally she does something good for me.' Hoggle leapt like a salmon, easily dodging the thrown crystal, fear giving him gymnastic abilities beyond his reach.  
Running through the house, Hoggle ducked into the bedroom, acutely aware of the curses following him from the kitchen.  
With a fast look behind himself, he dived under the bed, into nowhere space.

What is nowhere space?

Nowhere space is where everything connects.

It's best describe as that bit behind the radiator. You know-the bit you can't get from the top, and you can't get at it from the bottom either.

Or it's that bit under the bed, where you know there's a plug, but you just can't reach without going all the way under the bed.

Anything that goes missing after you know you've just put it down a minute ago tends to wind up inside. Biro pens, paperclips, little springy things that come with kitchen appliances, they all can be found inside nowhere space.

It can be a time as well.

It can be that point on a rainy Saturday afternoon when every single entertaining program has finished, and all that's on is either an old black and white film, a makeover program you've seen before, and a foreign language film, minus the sub titles. The time that drags, when you know you should be doing something useful, but just can't muster the energy.

It's also how Goblins travel.

Hoggle emerged from under Sarah's bed, spitting out what appeared to be a toy doll's plastic shoe.  
"Sarah! Ye needed me?"  
Spinning round from her place at the vanity, Sarah gave him a smile.  
"Hoggle! I knew you'd come-I knew it couldn't just have been a dream!"

Looking around wryly, Hoggle commented: "if it hadn't been a dream, wouldn't your room have bin tidier?"  
Sarah flushed. "Listen Hoggle, I'm sorry I called you away if-"  
"Na, na! It was good of ye." Looking around, Hoggle noted the lack of places that even someone as small and wiry as he could fit into and hide. "It sounds odd Sarah, but…" he rubbed the back of his neck, embarrassment getting the better of him.

Smiling at her friend's discomfiture, Sarah tucked her knees up to her chest. "Hoggle, I owe you a huge favor for helping me get Toby back."  
Taking a deep breath he looked up at her. "Sarah, I needs your help." He started to pace nervously, wringing the bracelet he wore. "He's chasing me."  
She listened intently, not needing any explanation as to who 'He' was.  
"Ever since you left, hes bin mad.  
At me mostly, I think."

"Heggler, you do give yourself airs."

Both Sarah and Hoggle spun to face the Goblin King, looking remarkably at ease for a man sat on a window sill. He leaned back, savoring the night air as he swung his legs, arms gripping the window frame. "It is a wonderful night out here." He noted, "the stars are most divine. What you can see of them anyway."  
He turned his head, looking straight at Sarah. "Your kind must learn not to pump such foul pollutants into the air."  
With a sharp intake of breath, Sarah went on the attack, hurling the first thing that came to hand.  
Jareth caught it easily, bringing the object close to his face to inspect it. "A Statue of myself? A crude rendition, butmost flattering…May I come in?"  
"No," Sarah growled. "Right now all I want to do is push you right off that windowsill, but a body on the lawn would be too hard to explain in the morning."  
"I'm coming in anyway." Jareth turned round and swung elegantly into the room. Striding across the carpet, he knelt bring himself to Hoggle's eyelevel. "Don't worry Hoggle, I haven't forgotten _you_.  
Now, Sarah, how is your dear darling baby brother? Well, I trust?" He asked getting up.  
"He's fine, not that it's any concern of yours. He's my brother."  
"Yet that did not stop you wishing him away."

Sarah stepped forwards, almost nose to nose with her adversary. "I got him back. Because, guess what? You have no power over me." She said, finishing in a sing song tone.  
Pinching the bridge of his nose, "You are not in my world now Sarah. Despite the effect those words may have had upon me the last time we met, they do not apply now.  
If I have no power over you, then the same applies to myself. You have no power over me."  
"'just fear me, love me, and I will be your slave,'" Sarah parroted.  
"It is true that you held a minor fascination for me whilst you traversed the labyrinth, but that is over now.  
And I-I have other business.  
Despite your egotistical thinking, I do have a kingdom to run, even if it is populated by halfwits. Speaking of which; where has that particular one gone?"  
He peered around the room, noticing with interest the number of labyrinthine creatures that were incorporated into the room, as toys, ornaments, and decoration. He was not the only one to have merited a place in her room.

Offhand, he wondered how exactly that had happened. He wasn't careless with his creatures, allowing them to run rampant in the aboveground. So how exactly had Sarah managed to collect this…memorial?

Surely the book hadn't managed to inspire all of this?

"Hoggle?" Sarah looked round, noticing for the first time her friend's disappearance. She got up, walking around the room, peering under the bed, in the wardrobe, and behind the door. "Where are you Hoggle?"  
She got down and looked under her vanity table.  
"there you are," she whispered, barely above a breath.  
It was still too loud.  
Jareth was beside her, crouching to stare at the dwarf."Hamkin-"  
"-Hoggle!"  
"whatever." Jareth dismissed Sarah's concern with a wave of his hand. "He has committed treason. I come here following him; the law must be upheld." He paused for a second contemplating, fingers steepled upon his chin. "My subjects are not allowed to roam around willynilly. How did you get here Hoggle?"  
"He's welcome here. Unlike some."  
"hmmpf. If you are not going to tell me, I can pursue it no further." Walking away, Jareth began to pace the room. "I assure you, that though your concern is laudable, it has no place in my court. Justice must be served."  
"you're going to kill him, aren't you?" Sarah quietly said. "That's what used to happen to people who betrayed the crown."  
"I can not believe that you think so little of me Sarah. Tut tut. Unmerited, I can assure you.  
No; banishment is the traditional-"  
"No!" Hoggle raced out from the dresser, grasping at his kings legs. "Ye can't banish me; who'll feed the pond creatures, and what about the fairies!"  
Jareth sighed deeply, rubbing his forehead. "Get off." When the ranting dwarf refused to let go; "Hoggle, release me at once, or I shall refuse to banish you."  
Stifling, Hoggle looked up. "Ye won't banish me? But what ya gonna do?"  
"Hoggle, if you do not cease this ludicrous display this very second, I will personally make sure to dunk you slowly into the bog of eternal stench…feet first."  
He let go as if Jareth had suddenly turned to molten steel, the threat working it's usual magic.  
"Now, if you would be silent for a while, so I can finish-" He looked around making sure as he fixed a glare upon both that neither would dare to interrupt him. "There. Before I was interrupted I was saying that banishment was the usual punishment for treason.  
But," he held a finger up, warding off Hoggle's histrionics, "according to the law I must give you and our fellows a chance to prove yourselves to the crown. Trite, I know, but that is the way it is done."  
"I won't let you." Sarah stepped forwards, blocking Hoggle from Jareth's line of view. "I won't let you hurt my friends. I don't care what it takes, as long as it doesn't hurt anyone but me. I'm the one you're angry with."  
"And there is that ego again. You are trying my patience, Sarah, despite the fact that this has nothing to do with you." He sounded exhausted to Sarahs ears, something she was not quite ready to believe. He told her once that she had exhausted him, just before…  
Her attention was distracted from considering this by Hoggle tugging insistently at her trouser leg.

"Let me go Sarah." He whispered in her ear as she bent down. "Can't be any worse than what would happen if I stayed here too long."  
"What would happen?"  
"I'd disappear. Look at him, you can see it."  
It was true.  
Now that she was looking, she could see a slight blur around the goblin king. A pearly luminescent shine that glossed his features, making him appear paler than usual.

"He came without askin'. You asked for me, so I can last bit longer than he can. This place drains him. All we're doin nows, tryin his temper.  
"I'll go with you." He stepped round, and walked towards his king.  
"Hoggle! Wait!"  
He turned, watching her. Sarah was running round her room, picking up bits and pieces, tossing them into a pillowcase hastily wrenched from the bed.  
"There!" She smoothed her bangs from her face. "Take this Hoggle. There are things in here you could use."  
"Like what?" Hoggle asked, curiously.  
Peering in; "umm…a Swiss army knife, sunglasses, lunchbox, and couple of chocolate bars." Noting the baffled look, "It's a type of food humans like to eat for treats."  
"Will you hurry up!" Jareth conjured a crystal, playing it across his fingers. "there are other things I wish to do today, you know."  
"Alright, alright."  
"Finally," Jareth huffed. "Are you ready to return?"  
"Yeah, yeah." Hoggle grumbled.  
"Before Hoggle goes, I want to make some adamants.  
You won't try to hurt any of my friends by either directly placing them into danger, or by knowingly sending them into danger."  
"The entire underground," Jareth rolled his eyes theatrically, "is certain danger. If you wish to make adamants, you should be more specific."  
Sarah cocked her head to one side. "Okay then. Umm…no sending anyone into a situation where you know they're going to get killed."  
"Done." Jareth glared down to Hoggle, now standing by his left. "Now, we must be going. And Sarah?"

She looked up, watching the shimmer playing across his features.

"You'd make one hell of a poker player."

Da na! What do people think? More should be up soon. I've actually got quite a bit typed, but I want to give myself some leeway in case something comes up.

Reviewing will make me write faster-and suggestions are always greatly appreciated.

If you have an idea, drop me a line. As long as it fits within the rules I laid down for myself in this story, and doesn't contradict with a future plotline, I'll probably use it.

See you next time!


	3. Questers, Chapter Three

I don't want to say it. I don't like saying it. But it's true, and brings the sad reality home. I don't own Labyrinth…oh no!

Questers, Chapter three.

The castle beyond the goblin city shook, dust drifting from the ceiling, stones grating against one another, mortar chipping.  
"That's it my brother!"  
A stone dropped from the ceiling, crashing next to the small fox. "well, perhaps not." He reflected, noting the cracked floor. Once again he wiggled, trying to free himself from the ropes that held him fast to the barrel. Once again with no success.  
"Youse should stop-hic! -dat." A large helmeted goblin remarked, stumbling unsteadily towards Sir Didymus. "Da King don't like it when we mess dis place up."  
"Personally, I believe demolition could only tidy this place." Sir Didymus glared at the chicken pecking Ludo's feet, woken from his daydreams of valor and glory at last. "Stop those avians perpetrating that foul deed! My brother Ludo is a brave and noble beast and does not deserve to have his feet pecked to ribbons much less to be chained as he is!"

Ludo howled again, whether from pain or to call his friends, the rocks it wasn't clear.

The goblin shrugged, and picked up a mug from the top of the barrel, refilling it at the tap. Taking a swig, he swooshed the beer round his mouth, replying "But da King saids we weren't to let youse go. Whats he gonna do if we lets you go? Dump us's in der swamp dat's what. Na na, youse is gonna stay dere."  
Sir Didymus regarded the beer dribbling down the goblin's grin with obvious distaste.  
"You, my dear sir, are an simplistic, alcoholic, no brained buffoon! Ruff!" He snapped at the goblin.  
"Aw, thwanks. Yous is a real nice prisoner." He slurped again from the mug. "Could you tell hims to keep it doon tho? Nearly time for Rosie to sing."  
"Keep it down? Goblin singing?! Let me loose and I'll give you a song you won't forget in a hurry!"  
"Dat'd be good," the goblin paused weighing up a singsong, or the possibility of the kings wrath. "Buts we'd better keep youse tied up. Maybes yous could sing like dat?"

Sighing, Sir Didymus dropped his head.

A goblin jumped on top of Sir Didymus's barrel, wearing a permed blonde wig and a red dress, the effect of which seemingly supposed to try and make the goblin look like a stunted Marlin Monroe. Sadly, this was not the case, instead looking like a goblin wearing a red dress and blonde wig that reached down to its knees.  
Kicking up its heels, it started into what would have promised to be an astounding musical number (about pigs and sausages) had it not been interrupted…

"awww…what'd I land on?" cussed a strong Yorkshire voice.  
"Sir Hoggle? Is that you?" asked Sir Didymus, trying to peer above him.  
"If it isn't I'd want ta know what he did with the rest o me." Came the amused reply, followed briefly by a string of colourful curses as he found exactly what he'd landed upon.  
"soddin goblins. Can't see what he wants with em." There was a huff, a gasp, and the dwarf thudded down to the left.  
"Sometimes, neither can I. Apart from being a nuisance , they have no discernable talent."

"Da Kings ba-ack!" chorused the goblins, rushing to the center of the room.

"Did you bring anything?" asked one particularly brave goblin flying across the room to perch on a window. As if opening the flood gates, the goblins rushed out with questions.  
"What's up dere lookin like?"  
"Sweeties?!"  
"Where you been?"  
"Alki-hic!-hol!"  
"Did ya see da girl again?"

"SILENCE!" Grumbling, Jareth paced the dais, rubbing the sides of his forehead, feeling the beginning of a terrible migraine. "I will tell you about my trip later, when and if I have the energy." Flopping into the throne, he threw his legs over the left arm. "I have other business. Leave."  
The goblins looked at each other, stupidified.  
"Do I have to use words of one syllable or less? Out!"  
Grumbling slightly, the goblins left, one or two picking up chickens as they went, shedding feathers over the floor.

When he was satisfied they had gone, Jareth crept over to the door.  
Opening it, he stepped back to avoid the falling tower of goblins.  
"When I said out, I did not mean just outside the door!" His hands started on his hips, but as he gestured with his hands as he spoke, the volume of his voice rose in accordance with his hands. "Do none of you have anything better to do?"

Various goblins looked sheepish.

"Well, go rebuild the city then!"  
Turning on his heel, the goblin king stalked back to his throne, settling down into it eventually.  
For a while he stared off into space, as if contemplating some intangible decision that was just beyond his reach, seemingly forgetting about the trio that stood before him.  
Until Sir Didymus coughed.

He blinked, immediately bringing his full attention to bear on them.  
"Terribly dusty in here, is it not?" he beamed.  
"It is lucky that you comment that fox." Jareth noted. "Otherwise I might believe that you were suggesting that I hurry up. Of course, you are not suggesting that are you?"  
"Of course not sire!" Nodding his head, he tried to sweep his hat from his head without using the hands that were still tied to the barrel. "You are the very epitome of timing."  
"I have decided," Jareth announced, ignoring the comment, "That as your punishment you each shall undertake a quest for the good of the kingdom. You will be free to use any resources you may find, but-" He held up an index finger, "You may not pass the quest to another creature. You must complete it on your own.  
"You will have two months to complete your quests. I expect you to have each left by sundown this evening, and expect you back, in this room by the sunset of the last day."  
Pacing, he declared "You each shall have a separate quest.  
You there, orange creature!"  
Ludo looked up. "Ludo!" he crooned in a deep bass.  
"Yes, yes. You need to find a Dragon's tear.  
"Sir Dittymule-"  
"It's Didymus, sire."  
"Dittymule; rebuilding and restoring the bridge above the bog is your task. Hoggle," He knelt down, beckoning with one finger. "You shall negotiate a treaty with the Fairy kingdom regarding their continual trespass into the labyrinth."  
"Fairies?!" Hoggle spluttered. "You wants me to talk to them flittering balls o glitter and asks 'em not to come ere?"

Yikes! Hoggle has to go talk to the Fairies? He's not going to like that!  
Chapter four is being typed up as I type here-or it will be. Hopefully I'll have it finished soon-computer problems have delayed the issue.

Hope everyone has a happy new year!


	4. Questers, Chapter Four

Chapter four

Hoggle looked up, noting the height of the sun over the junkyard. The junkyard had seemed the logical place to start from, just outside the city walls, with useful items that though some may have thrown them away, others found useful.  
Abandoned items found their way here from the aboveground, into the waiting clutches of Agnes.  
Who was who they were trying to find now.  
Agnes was one of the eldest of the goblins, and could actually remember back to before Jareth had taken the throne. Back to the time of Good Governances, when the goblins were wise and ruled themselves.

(Yeah, right…Ask a goblin how may goblins takes to change a lightbulb and the first questions you'll get is 'Wa's a goblin? Sigh…perhaps it was an experiment in anarchy. Give two goblins a length of rope and instantly they will seize opposite ends and pull in different directions.)

A bent, wizened, knarled old creature, with a good dose of senility thrown in, Agnes collected political theories found amongst the rubbish to sell as new (once they'd been cleaned up and given a new spin) to those with no opinions of their own.  
The rubbish she carried on her back was just a hobby. Once finding a person in her domain, she would instantly try to convert them to it, finding scattered ruminants of their life's that had long since been discarded and forgotten and piling them on to their back. Really, she thought she was doing them a favor; Far better to be carrying your troubles literally on your back, than carting them inside your head.  
She was capable of carrying up to seventy times her own weight in baggage, emotional, physical, or mental. (She confessed to preferring the physical over any other. Emotional and mental baggage were too heavy for what they were-plus it looks pretty impressive to be carrying over your own height in items.)  
If anyone knew what they should do it would be her.  
Righting a stool that only had two legs, Hoggle sank gratefully down to the seat, resting tired feet, leaning back against one of the piles.  
Ludo plonked himself down.  
"Thank you my brother!" Jumping down from his position on Ludo's shoulder, Sir Didymus swung down via one horn.  
"sure." He grunted.  
"We must find Ambrosias!"  
"Aw, not that stupid dog!" Hoggle jumped up, and stomped off to sulk at a pile.  
"Ambrosias! Ambrosias!" Sir Didymus bellowed. "We must find him. We can not go anywhere without Ambrosias." He explained. "Am-bro-sias!  
Well, I was hoping not to use this." He grumbled, pulling a silver whistle from one pocket. "pppppwwwwweeeeeppp!" He blew.  
Watching with interest, Ludo gently crooned in key.  
Sir Didymus looked crestfallen. "He must be too far away. He cannot hear my call."  
Perking his long ears, Ludo mumbled gently; "No hear?"  
"Yes, the whistle isn't loud enough. It makes a noise, but also creates a sound we can not hear. This sound calls Ambrosias to me."  
"Hrrrounnnn…" Slowly, Ludo winked, one eye at a time. "Ludo make noise-call Ambrosias."  
"How, my brother? How do you mimic a sound you cannot hear?"  
Reaching down, Ludo picked the whistle from him. "Ludo hear. Rocks too."  
Softly he blew a note.  
"A fat lot of good that'll do. Whoever heard of a dog answering a whistle," jeered Hoggle, "It was even quieter than him."

The sound rang back, magnified, a least five times louder, deafening.  
"How the?!" Hoggle jumped up, staring wildly around.  
"Rrrwocks friends." Drawled Ludo, smiling. "Rocks make music. Goblins no hear."  
"I ain't no Goblin!"  
A yap sounded over one of the mounds, followed closely by a flash of gaily colored cloth and black and white fur.  
"Ambrosias! Ambrosias, you are-" Sir Didymus watched as he was bypassed in favor of Hoggle.  
"Ah, geroff, you great big mound of fur." Hoggle pushed the dog away. Ambrosias sat for a few seconds, only to jump back up, showering Hoggles face with a wet tongue.  
"alright." Didymus softly finished.  
Ludo gently laid a huge finger (in comparison to Sir Didymus) on his shoulder.  
"Cmon, let me go!"  
Clambering over one of the piles, Agnes rounded the mound, staring at the quartet.  
"Hrmpf…" she sniffed.  
Clanking, she waddled down towards them.  
Seeing them turn towards her, she asked: "What are you lot doin here?"  
Screeching, Sir Didymus swung his staff. "Halt foul hag, thou retch of the deepest sea gorge, come no further or face your fate!"  
"hrrmpf!"  
Settling back into an abandoned armchair, with a spring sticking from the arm. "What a way to talk to a lady. Make some tea dearie, I want to hear all the gossip."

It should be noted now, that Agnes (as well as the rest of the goblins) was, will be, and is, a terrible gossip. They love to hear exactly, no matter how exaggerated, what is going on, as soon as it happens. It's said that what new colours the well known fashion obsessed goblins Lish and Nees are wearing can be known throughout the labyrinth before either have stepped outside their bedroom door.  
Poking the small fire Didymus had built, Hoggle gloomily listened to the rendition of their fate, from Sir Didymus, with occasional contributions from Ludo.  
Quite frankly, he didn't know how he was going to survive this with only Sir Didymus for a conversational partner. The constant "thee's" and "thou's" were starting to get upon his nerves already.  
The whistle of the kettle drew him back from his thoughts, reminding him that it wouldn't magically become tea on its own.  
Wrapping the tea towel round the handle, Hoggle poured a little water into the pot to warm it, setting the kettle back next to the fire to keep warm as he swirled the pot, before tipping the water out.  
Privately, he wondered how exactly Agnes had managed to have a tea set and enough cups and saucers for each of them (including an extra saucer for Ambrosias), as well as a kettle and tea leaves.  
But the Goblins here were known for their uncanny ability to sometimes have exactly what you needed, so perhaps it was not so unusual after all.  
He filled the pot once more, before measuring in the leaves, replacing the lid and sitting back to let the tea brew.  
A sharp jab to his back reminded him that Agnes was still there.  
"And where were you while this was happening young man? Hrrm?"  
Each word was accompanied by Agnes staff hitting between his shoulder blades.

"Yes, you did not inform us of where you had gone, Sir Hoggle. I am most intrigued as to your whereabouts." Chirruped the tiny knight.  
'He would be,' Hoggle darkly thought, giving the fire another sharp stab.  
He sat back, resting the stick he'd been using as a poker over his knees.  
In the end, he simply said "Sarah called." He shrugged. "Jareth followed. That's when he caught up. Sarah sent us somethings too."  
"She did?" They crowded round as Hoggle unwrapped the sack/pillowcase from around his belt.  
"Yup. Some human stuff she thought might be interesting."  
"Hmpf." Anges gave it a critical once over. "Junk. Not what you really need." She tried to pull herself up from the chair. Flailing, she grabbed hold of Ludos fur, and used it to pull herself up. "You need to find what you need. One thing each."  
Then, clanking as she went, she left as quickly as she came.

They'd arranged to meet at the main gates in the high afternoon, when the sun was past it's zenith.  
Hoggle glowered. He wanted to be away by now. True, he had no idea where they would go, nor what plan they should follow. But he wanted to be gone.  
Faintly, he heard a "tally ho! What?! Ambrosias!" echoing over the walls.  
Hoggle rubbed his forehead with his hand, and reached for his pipe. He filled it, lighting it with a spark from a flint.

Puffing away, he contemplated whether life away from the Labyrinth would be that bad.

Okay, okay! I thought this Chapter would be longer than it's turned out to be. I originally planned it to be much longer.  
I know I don't type much, but life has been weighing heavy upon my shoulders lately. First work, then Christmas, then University assignments. I have another due in middle of February, and another about the beginning of March. Life is not being fun at the moment, and I'm feeling a little depressed about a few things…time to reach for the Angel Delight.

What I'm really trying to say is I'm not sure when exactly I going to be able to get some more up-but trust me this won't be abandoned! I may disappear for a little while, but I'm going to try to stick to my biweekly posting strategy.

Cheers!

PS-Some infomation was taken from Brian Frouds Goblin Companion-an excellent book for reading on long journeys! Mainly about Agnes. If anyone wants to know what is actually said about her in the book, e-mail me, and I shall post with the next edition!

I still don't own Labyrinth-if I did, I'd keep Sir Didymus with me all the time!


	5. Questers, Chapter five part one

Chapter five, part one.

Thinking back, Hoggle wondered how he'd ever agreed to travel like this.

The heat outside was incredible once you left the relative shade of the walls of the Labyrinth, and the scrubby plants of the wastelands.

The wind whipped across, searing heat, as he paused once more to tip sand from his shoes.

Pointless really, emptying your shoes in the middle of a desert.

"Tell me again," he grumbled, watching the bulk of Ludo leading the trail, "Why we are crossing the desert, instead of being sensible and going some other way?"

"My friend Hoggle," Sir Didymus yapped, turning, "You know very well why we are crossing this intractable waste.

The only way to the Fairy Kingdom," he whirled Ambrosias round once more to point towards the mountains in the east, "Is through the pass high in the mountains!

"Besides," he pointed out, "The entire span of our Lord Jareths domain is encompassed by the desert."

"So why are we going North instead of East?" Hoggle shouted.

"Because the oasis is that way!"

"Why are we going to the soddin' oasis!" howled Hoggle.

"water!" Ludo moaned.

"I'm parched too." Hoggle rubbed his throat.

Sir Didymus only looked triumphant, his answers preempted.

Hoggle reached into his purse, rubbing the stone Anges had given him before they left.

It had been odd, the way she suddenly appeared like that. If Hoggle hadn't known of her habit of disappearing, only to appear right where you didn't expect her, he would have thought it suspicious. In fact, he did consider it suspicious.

Agnes wasn't known for her generosity.

'Wouldn't call givin' me a stupid rock generous.'

He thought back to the gates.

Knocking his pipe out, Hoggle rechecked his pack.

"salt, water, map, spare set o clothes, dilute bog water, sprayer, salt pork, bread, dried fruit, socks.

"Baccy, penknife, jewels, earplugs…anything else?"

Methodically, he retied the pack with a rope he'd found in the junkyard. Rope would always come in useful.

Sir Didmus had opted to take 'a sabre of unusual length and weight!' Nevermind that it was actually a kitchen knife, despite the erstwhile efforts of Ludo and Hoggle to convince him otherwise.

The last time he'd seen those two was as they trundled out of the junkyard heading towards the bog in the blue handcart Ludo had picked.

Not having any wish to visit the Bog at all, no matter how many times Sir Didymus proclaimed that the air there 'gave one a certain brace', Hoggle had departed for his own home, packing, and then locking up tight before handing the key to the family of worms that lived nearby. He wasn't sure what 'a certain brace' was either, but felt he could well do without.

"Matches! Forgot the damn things nearly." Patting down his pockets, Hoggle eventually found some. There were only five left.

"Lucky I use a flint to light me baccy. Couldn't go without that."

Asking Hoggle to give up smoking his pipe would be like asking the sun not to shine, or goblins not to try eating live chickens. No matter how many got scratched, pecked, tarred then feathered, there was always one willing to give eating chicken a try.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hoggle saw something move.

"Come out, whatever you are. Know you're there."

Sheepishly, a boulder followed by a horde of pebbles appeared from round the corner of one of the passageways.

Looking round closely, Hoggle noticed there were a lot of rocks around. The larger ones piled against a wall, smaller ones crowding the tops of the walls.

"Well, I never." He scratched at his head. "Wouldn't of believed it if I hadn't seen it."

The rocks turned towards the booming noise that pounded towards them, from up an alleyway, getting closer and closer. It sounded like a stampede, no, an earthquake. In fact, it sounded just like…

"Rwocks friends!"

Towing the cart, Ludo erupted through the wall, showering bricks, dust and mortar chips.

The dust danced down sparkling in the sunlight, raining in the afternoon sun.

Ambrosias leapt down, shaking himself off, whining piteously.

"My brother has the strength and determination of a very battering ram! Truly he is amongst the greatest warriors to live within the Labyrinth!" crowed Sir Didymus.

The dog marched round, sniffing the air.

"Ambrosias, that is most impolite. You should not-" Sir Didymus's nostrils twitched. "Is that…possibly? Salt pork?"

Hoggle hurriedly swung his pack back up, eying both canines. "got some in the bag. And that stuff Sarah sent."

"Salt pork…" whined Sir Didymus, before shaking his head. "We should decide where we are headed." He pulled a folded map from his pocket, spreading it over the ground, weighing down each corner with pebbles that rolled helpfully forwards. "Though not accurate, this map shows most of the underground." Pointing to a dense light yellow area, "this is the vast sea of sand that lies beyond yonder gates. This circle represents the Labyrinth.

To the far north, the great sea. Many monsters are said to lair there. Giant fish the size of castles! Perhaps when this is over, we could take an expedition!" He glanced round, noting the general apathy that greeted his comment. Even Ludo ignored him, appearing to be trying to say goodbye to every single piece of stone that had appeared, to the detriment of everything else in the world.

"No?

Ah well, one quest at a time.

"To the east, lies the Sahaut mountain range. Beyond that, the Fairie lands. I believe we should travel there firstly."

"No!"

Sir Didymus glanced up, noting the panic stricken expression upon the dwarf's face.

"Why, if I did not know better Sir Hoggle, I might believe that you are afraid."

Hoggle snorted, letting everyone know his opinion of this.

"In fact I do believe that you are terrified.

Which is why we are going there first."

He folded the map up, the breeze making the parchment snap slightly, before replacing it in his pocket.

"What! There is no-"

"Sir Hoggle" snapped Sir Didymus, "I had heard of you through gossip before we met. General consensus had it you were a cowardly wretch who lived his days to his sole interest."

Hoggle glared back. "And what if I am? I could run off and leave you three here."

"And where would you go? If we fail in this, we are all banished!

I have no home other than the blissful bog that our Lord Jareth set me and my ancestors to guard eons ago. I am the last of the guardians of the bog and I shall not fail in protecting my charge!"

"Friendss no fight.." Ludo mournfully proclaimed.

Hearing a muted "hrmpf," Sir Didymus spun round, staff prepared, epithets ready to fly from his lips. Noting who it actually was, he dropped the staff to his side, proclaiming, "My brothers, once more the hag has appeared!"

I know, I know. Long time no see, huh?

I've been snowed under (literally and figuratively) with work and….snow! We had nearly a foot on Sunday morning.

Also, what I thought was merely a nasty case of flu has turned out to be Quincys. Consequently, the Docters confined me to bed rest, and so many tablets I'm surprised I don't rattle.

I build carrot stick shrines to my reviewers!


End file.
